3. Extraction from Unit #1 Technical Assessment Report [Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC)]

Jordan Al Qatrana CCPP Unit 1 Technical Assessment Report
Attach 3. Caustic Gouging in HRSG Units

※ Source : Caustic Gouging in Conventional and HRSG Units - Boiler and Heat
Recovery Steam Generator Tube Failures: Theory and Practice(1023063,
'11.12)
1 Features of Damage
○ Caustic gouging appears as a local gouging on the ID of the tube. There is a
gradual loss of material until the remaining wall thickness cannot maintain
the pressure. Most often caustic gouging results in a pinhole leak.
○ A typical macroscopic feature of caustic gouging is the presence of distinct
hemispherical or elliptical depressions on the inside surface of the tube
usually filled with a thick, layered deposit.
○ A feature that distinguishes caustic gouging from other underdeposit
corrosion mechanisms is the presence of corrosion deposits which contain
distinctive crystals of sodium ferroate and/or sodium ferroite(Na2FeO2) in the
layered deposits. After removal of the deposits, tube gouging is generally
evident as a smooth, undulating surface.
○ Microstructurally, unlike hydrogen damage, there is no microstructural
deterioration as a result of the underdeposit corrosion process. There may
be some overheating evident in the tube steel as evidenced by the
spheroidization of pearlite if the deposition process has led to localized tube
overheating.
○ There is superficial similarity in the appearance among caustic gouging,
hydrogen damage, and acid phosphate corrosion; all are waterside,
underdeposit corrosion processes that result in tube gouging and usually
result in the presence of extensive deposits.
○ Deposition alone is also not sufficient to cause hydrogen damage, caustic
gouging, or acid phosphate corrosion. They must also have concentration of
the requisite aggressive chemicals.
○ Hydrogen damage, caustic gouging, and acid phosphate corrosion (all
waterside underdeposit corrosion mechanisms) can produce features that
may appear to be superficially similar.
- Hydrogen Damage : Deposits formed by a number of root causes plus acidic
contamination (several potential sources) beneath deposit.
- Caustic Gouging : Deposits formed (similar formation) plus caustic
concentration beneath deposit.
- Acid Phosphate Corrosion : Deposits (similar formation) plus acid phosphate
concentration beneath deposit.
- 68 -
2. Mechanisms of Damage in Conventional and HRSG Units

○ It is well understood that uncontrolled concentration of sodium hydroxide
may lead to caustic gouging in the boiler. Damage by caustic gouging begins
with the accumulation of feedwater corrosion products, usually as a result of
a flow disruption (geometric or flow hydraulic).
○ High corrosion rates occur in boiler tube or HRSG tube steel in either low pH
or high pH conditions. Just as hydrogen damage is the result of local low pH
conditions, caustic gouging occurs in locally high pH conditions. In the low
pH environment, the generation of hydrogen occurs at the corrosion
product/metal interface and thus hydrogen atoms diffuse into the tube
steel.That diffusion of hydrogen leads to degradation of the microstructure.
○ In the caustic case, there is a concentration of hydroxide ions in the deposit
and the escape of hydrogen gas into the water as illustrated in Figure 24-6;
there is a much lower diffusion of hydrogen into the tube steel. As a result,
there is no icrostructural deterioration of the tube steel.
Figure 24-6. Electrochemical corrosion cell for caustic gouging. A caustic upset in
boiler water conditions results in concentration of sodium hydroxide ions in the
deposit and generation of hydrogen gas at the boiler water/deposit interface.
○ The concentrated NaOH dissolves/fluxes the protective oxide (magnetite)

and/or metal. Once saturation is passed, there is a precipitation of
characteristic sodium ferroate or sodium ferroite crystals. Local
thermalhydraulic conditions such as wick boiling or steam blanketing
increasingly concentrate caustic in the deposits. This will result in the
situation shown in Figure 24-8.
- 69 -
Figure 24-8. Schematic of caustic gouging beneath a region of heavy deposition.

epending on the rate of corrosion there may be a layer of protective Fe3O4
beneath the concentrated NaOH.
○ The tube inside surface will have a thin layer of magnetite, much reduced
from its normal protective thickness, or perhaps, depending on the corrosion
rate, almost non-existent. Covering any remaining oxide will be a layer of
concentrated NaOH. It is at this interface that the corrosion reaction occurs
between the concentrated NaOH and either oxide or tube metal. The
concentrated NaOH dissolves away (or fluxes) the oxide layer, or if the
reaction is rapid, the tube metal directly.
○ Caustic concentration can lead to high rates of attack (up to 2 mm/yr (0.08
in/yr)), but not as high as with acidic contamination, such as hydrogen
damage, where corrosion rates can be > 10 mm/yr (0.39 in/yr).
○ The corrosive process can be stopped if the boiler or HRSG is chemically
cleaned and the water chemistry is corrected. Although some tubes may
have suffered wall loss, they may still be able to function with the reduced
section and proportionately higher hoop stress levels. However, the
remaining gouges can act as flow disrupters and thus it is important to keep
the feedwater corrosion products and NaOH levels at, or below, normal
guideline values (1004188, 2004; 1010438, 2006).
- 70 -
3. Possible Root Causes and Actions to Confirm in HRSG Units

[Major Root Causes] : Excessive Deposits
○ On rapid startups, various parts of the HRSG circuits may be subject to
abnormally high heat transfer and tube metal temperatures as a result of the
presence of waterside deposits and severely restricted circulation.
○ Particularly important indicators of corrosion product transport that cause
deposit formation are iron levels at the economizer, in the feedwater, or
evaporator inlet. Normal guidance is to keep the iron level below 5 ppb in
each drum and below 2 ppb in the feedwater. For all ferrous systems, a
reducing agent is not required (1010438, 2006) as these are the direct cause
of high iron levels and flow-accelerated corrosion.
[Longterm Actions and Prevention of Repeat Failures]

○ Determine the need to chemically clean.
○ Keep deposits to an acceptable level.
○ Minimize feedwater corrosion products through control of chemistry,
particularly pH and reducing agent additions; Fe < 5 ppb in each drum and
Fe < 2 ppb in the feedwater, and cation conductivity < 0.2 mS/cm at the
economizer inlet, for each HRSG circuit.
○ Minimize evaporator corrosion products by optimum choice of HRSG
treatment (1010438, 2006).
○ Monitor for effectiveness of chemistry control. Corrosion product levels
provide the best assessment tool.
- 71 -

3. Extraction from Unit #1 Technical Assessment Report [Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC)]

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Jordan Al Qatrana CCPP Unit 1 Technical Assessment Report

Attach 3. Caustic Gouging in HRSG Units

2. Mechanisms of Damage in Conventional and HRSG Units

○ The concentrated NaOH dissolves/fluxes the protective oxide (magnetite)

Figure 24-8. Schematic of caustic gouging beneath a region of heavy deposition.

3. Possible Root Causes and Actions to Confirm in HRSG Units

[Longterm Actions and Prevention of Repeat Failures]

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